Perfectly camoflauged on rocks in the intertidal, owl limpets are the farmers of rocky shores. These little mollusks "farm" the algae they like to eat, and remove less tasty ones from their patches of rock.

Owl limpets (Lottia gigantea)

Mean number by island

Size frequency by island

Left: a figure showing the average numer of owl limpets across the Northern Channel Islands from 2000 to 2014. Right: a figure showing the annunal size distribution of owl limpets across the Northern Channel Islands from 2000 to 2014. Figure credit: Channel Islands National Park.